When can you have hospice services?(Back to top) You can have hospice services when your physician believes that illness could result in death in about six months if the disease runs a “normal” course. This prediction is only a guess; no one really knows how long anyone will live.

Focus: Hospice focuses attention on both the patient and on the “family.” Our team members help families cope with the daily challenge of caring for a sick or frail person and with the lifestyle changes that illness can bring including loss of wages, medical benefits and transportation.

Who will be helping us?(Back to top) Hospice care is provided by a team that includes nurses, doctors, social workers, counselors, chaplains, home health aides and volunteers. Whether the patient and family need help caring for a wound, assistance preparing meals or are seeking prayer and spiritual support to face an unknown future – the hospice team includes someone trained in the task at hand.

What kind of help will we receive?(Back to top) A physician may recommend hospice, but only the patient, or the patient’s representative, may choose hospice care. The hospice team will work closely with the patient and the family to develop an individual Plan of Care. This Plan of Care may include:

Where are the services provided?(Back to top) RoseRock Healthcare takes care of people wherever they live – in their own homes, the homes of friends, in assisted living apartments or nursing homes. RoseRock is based in Tulsa and serves patients throughout northeastern Oklahoma.

What if it just gets too hard for the family to look after the patient?(Back to top) No family is completely prepared for the challenge of caring for a sick family member. To support the family, the hospice team may take a variety of steps including:

• Changing the Plan of Care so that team members visit the home more often; • Adding volunteers who can sit with the patient while family members take personal time; • Recommending “respite care,” a brief period in which the patient resides in a nursing home or hospital; • Helping the patient choose a permanent nursing home residence. Patients who choose to live in a nursing home may have to pay for the room and board “out of pocket.” A hospice social worker will help the patient and family understand all costs before any move is made.

What if a patient lives alone?(Back to top) Many patients live alone through choice or through circumstance. We will develop a Plan of Care with the patient that supports his or her needs. It will include a plan for how to meet the patient’s needs as additional help is required.

Does a patient ever get too sick to stay at home?(Back to top) Most symptoms can be managed at home. Based on patient need, when specialized medical support is required, RoseRock Healthcare provides round-the-clock continuous care where the patient lives. We also provide inpatient care in area hospitals that meet certain requirements.

Is hospice religiously affiliated?(Back to top) RoseRock Healthcare is not affiliated with any one religion. We have a team of trained chaplains and counselors who are ready to assist patients no matter what their religious background, even those with no religious background at all. Our pastoral care team helps people deal with the troubling issues that arise during the process of dying. “Where am I going?” “Am I a good person?” “Who will remember me?” These are important questions and our chaplains and counselors can help a patient and his or her family work through them peacefully.

• Is your Administrator a person with a recognized track-record in managing quality hospice programs? • Is your medical director Board certified in hospice and palliative medicine? • Do you have social workers with Master’s degrees on your staff? • Are nurses available to visit me if I have an emergency in the middle of the night? • Will you accept patients who do not have a full time primary caregiver? • Will you follow my wishes, as long as they are not illegal, whatever they may be? • Will you follow my wishes even if:

I don’t want to sign a Do-Not-Resuscitate form I don’t want to be fed through a tube I refuse IV liquids I don’t have an Advance Directive

• What if I don’t die within six months or even 12 months? Will you still take care of me?

What does hospice care cost?(Back to top) Hospice is a covered benefit under most insurance plans. For Medicare patients, there are no out-of-pocket costs. Even the cost of related medications, supplies and equipment is covered.